bakerstreet | First sight

First sight

The Love at First Sight Meme

Pretty self-explanatory. Sometimes, chemistry just hits you and you see that special someone for the first time and . . . it's so intense, there's no reasoning behind it other than it has to be love.

How this works:
→ Leave a comment with the usual information in the subject line: character name, fandom. Any preferences, including what you don't want, should be included as well.
→ Congratulations, whoever tags your character is seeing them for the first time and is in love with them. Truly, madly, deeply.
→ Tag around. Play out shenanigans. Serious or cracky or anything.
→ Have fun, and be excellent to each other!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Can also play Harleen Quinzel on request ]

Edited 2022-05-26 17:49 (UTC)

[ Marriage is a good thing.

In the dressing room of the chapel, pennants of the Sovereign Host adorn the walls, with flowers and ribbons decorating the pedestals and doors. Here and there are small tokens to Boldrei; her blessings are not normally needed in a house of faith such as this, but perhaps the Vassals responsible saw that a little extra help wouldn't hurt. Standing stiff and ramrod straight, Keegan stares at the reflection in the full-length mirror that, logically, he knows must belong to him. His unmanageable waves sit restrained at the back of his neck, tied with a ribbon that leaves an itch on his skin whenever he moves his head, though errant wisps of dark curls that refuse to bow to reason still bristle every which-way at his ears and brow. The clothing he wears is finely made but far from the finest money can buy, and tailored to him in a haphazard way that seems to hug and bunch in exclusively the wrong places. The color pallet comprised of bold reds and blues and whites does a fine job of accentuating the ruddy unpleasantness of his face and ears. No doubt his parents could afford better — but they all know he's not worthy of the expense.

Though the engagement was only finalized a few short weeks ago, the wedding has progressed with great rapidity. He supposes he should be grateful; this is, after all, a fresh start. No more boarding school for him to suffer through. No more university to fail out of. And with his parents arranging for him to be moved to his bride's estate rather than the traditional vice-versa, perhaps things will start to look up rather than remaining in the miserable plateau of disappointment that is his life. His betrothed has yet to meet him face to face but that's normal with these arrangements, isn't it? Trying to convince himself it's not to keep her from backing out has been a hard sell, but he still tries. That's why he continues his mantra, mouthed to the embarrassing mess of a man in the mirror again and again: Marriage is a good thing. This is a good thing.

Why is that so hard to believe?

The opening door gives him a start, heart hammering in his chest as the usher raises an eyebrow and nods her head in the direction of the chapel behind her. Keegan forces a smile, tight and anxious, and glances in the mirror once more before following her out the door. There are very few in attendance: his parents, sitting as far back from the front as they can conceivably get away with; the family of the bride, consisting of her parents, three younger siblings, and their staff; the Vassals of the temple, in as limited numbers as possible; and his bride, who awaits him at the altar. She seems fine enough from what he can see. Plain, but not overly so. Taller than him by an inch or two, though that might be the shoes. Her hair is dark and piled on her head in delicate braids that look a far cry better than the mess of a bun he's sporting. From this far away he thinks her eyes might be a pale blue? It's hard to tell; she glances at him only once before returning her gaze to the altar. She seems about as thrilled as he is about the whole thing. Who knows, maybe they can bond over that later.

The walk to the altar is both alarmingly fast and somehow a small eternity. Already he feels the sweat beginning to bead at his brow and prickle down the back of his neck as he finds himself standing in front of the woman who is about to become his wife. Breathing in through his nose, he tries to center himself as best he can as the priest begins to speak. Marriage is a good thing. This is a good thing. It can only get better from here. ]

[ The priest hardly manages a few words before he's interrupted by the empty space behind him suddenly beginning to churn. The air pressure in the room drops dramatically as a transplanar portal is formed, swirling furiously as elven soldiers spill from it to occupy all corners of the room. These elves look like no other on Khorvaire, however: colored in shades of autumn, perhaps it's the organic lines of their armor or something about their sharp-eyed stare that distinctively names them other. Alien.

At least, until the last elf appears. Tall and lanky, the blonde looks more prepared for the boudoir than a wedding, draped in thin silks and delicate gold chains as he is. Gazing over the room, his delight is bright enough to rival the sun when his eyes fall on Keegan. Striding to the other man, he addresses the audience with unearned confidence. ]

I imagine you all are probably wondering why I'm here. It's simple: this wedding is a farce, as the groom and I were promised to marry long before any of the rest of you came along.

[ His grin broadens at the audience's confusion, his warm eyes turning back to Keegan as he holds his hand out to the human. Looking at him now, there's something familiar about the mischievous gleam in his eye and the devotion in his voice as his head tilts down to better meet the other man's gaze. ]

Well, are you ready?

[ You know, in retrospect, this tracks. Were he a more even-tempered sort he wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised — which he isn't, of course. Hence his slack-jawed, deer-in-the-headlights stare. ]

Uh?

[ To be fair, he's hardly the only one: his bride lets out a choked gasp, scrambling back from the altar; her family, retreating from the march of soldiers with shrieks and shouts of alarm; the priest looks to be on the edge of a fainting spell. Even his own parents seem taken aback, which is the most emotion he's seen from them in... well, he's not going to think about that. With his fiancée fully recoiled and the priest now stumbling over himself off of the altar, Keegan finds himself alone in the face of enough pomp and circumstance to make his head spin — and a face that is even more disorienting in its familiarity. ]

What— I-I don't—

[ Is he going to pass out? He thinks he might pass out. Everything feels like it's tilting as he considers the best way to crumple that would rob him of the least amount of dignity possible before, all at once, something clicks. He squints up at the man beaming down at him. ]

...Elias?

[ Before anything more can be said Keegan's parents interrupt, approaching with caution. His father, a lanky, studious man, clears his throat with a furrowed brow and a deep brown. ]

Excuse me! I beg your pardon, but you've interrupted a ceremony — what the devil are you talking about?

[ Nose wrinkling in distaste, Elias reaches behind him and pulls a scroll from gods-know-where, unrolling it with a flourish before holding it out for the interloper and any other busybodies to see. The end of the scroll flutters to the floor, where it continues to roll further and further away. ]

A ceremony that, as I said, was being held unlawfully. Even if it was completed, everything could still go terribly awry. Fey magic, can't be helped.

[ Elias slings his arm around his betrothed's shoulder with uncalled for familiarity. Then, he pointedly uses his height to look down his nose at the older man with disdain. ]

And you are?

Edited 2022-06-01 20:31 (UTC)

[ Both his parents all but leap back when the scroll unfurls, then stare as it almost comically continues infinitely across the chapel floor. Fumbling in his breast pocket, his father retrieves his spectacles with a frown. ]

We are Keegan's parents.

[ It's offered with neither defensive concern nor outright malice; nothing more than a statement of fact. Should that sting as much as it does? The warmth of an arm encircling his shoulders jars him from his self-pity. His father, a man of contracts and legality, squints at the elegant writing to review the text as best as one can from 5 feet away. ]

A proposal made... thirteen years ago? We most certainly knew nothing of this.

[ As the eyes of his mother and father round on him, Keegan instinctively shrinks. Thirteen years ago would be when they met, right? His head spins as he tries to make sense of old memories long set aside as childish flights of fancy. ]

That's— That's crazy, of course we didn't, we—

[ The moment jumps out in his mind, the words of a determined nine year old full of foolish dreams and false confidence as Elias bemoaned a future where he would be married off to some ogre of a person just to give his family more power. Well that's easy! When we're grown up you and me will get married instead, and then you won't have to worry!

Elias had laughed; he remembered it specifically because it was full of delight rather than the malice and mockery he'd already come to expect in his young life. Are you proposing to me? the older boy had asked, amusement mixed with something else that Keegan wanted to wrap in his kerchief and tuck into his pocket to keep it forever close: hope. It had made him want to be strong and unfaltering like a heroic fairytale knight, if only for a moment. His goofy smile didn't do much to help him along.

Yeah! It's a great idea, right?

Again there was that smile. Keegan isn't sure how he'd lost sight of it for so long, crystal clear as it is in his mind.

I accept.

Oh. ]

Oh no.

[ He's scarcely aware he's said it out loud, fingers going into his hair and working against his tingling scalp. Recognizing a very familiar gesture than precludes their son realizing that he is once again in a mess of his own making, the two of them share a glance with one another that can still make his stomach twist with shame. ]

N-No, I mean, I— We, we were just kids! I didn't mean—

[ Well, at the time he very much did mean, but he was nine! He also thought someone had to go up and paint the holes in the moons every night! Distraught, his eyes turn back to Elsin. ]

I-I didn't know you were— I thought we were both just, just kids! Normal kids out in the... the middle of the woods, by a... big mushroom circle...

[ He trails off as more pieces fall into place. Boy, that sounds real obvious when you say it out loud, doesn't it? His voice comes as more of a croak than anything else. ]

Oh.

[ Well, shit. ]